Working from bed: like, or dislike?

By Brittany Ballenstedt

November 21, 2012

Where are you most comfortable working -- hunched over your desk, or curled up in your bed?

The Wall Street Journal reports that a new trend, particularly among the younger generation of workers, is working on their mobile devices while propped up against pillows or lying down in bed. The article even highlights some of the latest products designed for mobile employees who work in bed, such as ergonomic adjustable beds, special pillows and folding laptop tables.

A recent survey by mobile security software company Good Technology found that half of 1,000 workers polled read or respond to work emails from bed. Many of the mobile workers who work from their beds are serious about staying ahead of their work email, or ensuring they can respond quickly to customers or co-workers in different time zones, the survey found.

I write Wired Workplace almost exclusively from my home, and while it has allowed me the flexibility to be at home with my child, I still miss the culture of desk and office life. That’s why I choose to work almost exclusively at the desk in my home office. At the same time, I usually scroll through my work email on my smartphone from my bed at night and in the morning.

There is a potential downside to working in bed or teleworking in general, however. Cindy Auten, general manager at Telework Exchange, said in August that while improved work-life balance has been touted as a benefit of telework, it can produce negative results, particularly as employees may have a difficult time establishing work-life boundaries.

“As agencies roll out [bring your own device] programs, they should proactively communicate the expectations and performance measurement policies to ensure that employees do not feel on-call all of the time,” Auten said.

Where are you most comfortable working? Even if you do not telework full-time, do you ever find yourself checking your email or working from your bed using your mobile devices? And what impact do your mobile device habits have on your work-life balance?